144 FAMILIAR FEATURES OP THE ROADSIDE. 



from our hands. So greedy was one of them that 

 he crammed two fair-sized crusts in his bill and 

 endeavored to seize the third ; one of his feet rested 

 in my palm and the other grasped my thumb. Sev- 

 eral tree sparrows {Spisella vionticold) near hy also 

 seemed anxious to have a share of the feast, but 

 no quietude nor persuasiveness of manner on our 

 part sufficiently encouraged them to feed from our 

 hands ; they would fly quite near, and one even ven- 

 tured to snatch a crumb from ofE my knee. Rare- 

 ly the Canada jay has appeared down in the valley 

 near my cottage, probably with a view of filching 

 some tidbits around by the kitchen way. He has a 

 hoarse voice similar to that of the blue jay, but not 

 so boisterous ; sometimes he gives a low, nervous 

 whistle. The nest is usually found in a spruce tree ; 

 it contains from four to five white eggs speckled 

 with light olive-brown. 



The Canada jay has a cousin who is decked in far 

 finer feathers; this is the blue jay {Cyanocitta cris- 

 tata) ; he is also related to the crow. But he is a 

 bold creature, full of pranks and nonsense, who 

 always creates a sensation in the bird world. His 

 costume is a perfect " symphony in blue " ; cadet 

 blue, ultramarine, pale blue, gray, black, and white — 

 these are his regimentals. 



The blue jay's voice is a familiar one ; we all 



